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* The Games: The Ferris State University women's basketball team continues its five-game homestand with a pair of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) games this week inside Jim Wink Arena. FSU hosts Lake Superior State on Thursday, Feb. 2, at 6 p.m. (ET) and then faces Saginaw Valley State on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 1 p.m. (ET).

* Home Ticket Info: Ferris State home basketball tickets are sold on gameday at Wink Arena and are $7 for adults or $5 for FSU faculty/staff, senior (ages 65+) and students K-12. Current FSU students are admitted free by showing a valid student ID card. For more ticket info, please call the FSU Athletics Ticket Office at (231) 591-2888 or visit the official FSU website at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com.

* Media Coverage: Both games will be carried live by the Bulldog Sports Network and Sunny 97.3 FM with Rob Bentley calling the play-by-play action and Sandy Gholston offering color commentary. They will also be accessible online at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com along with a live pay-per-view video webcast and live internet statistics. Visit the FSU Athletics website at www.FerrisStateBulldogs.com for a complete listing of links.

* GLIAC Preseason Poll: The Ferris State women's basketball squad was picked to finish fifth in the 2011-12 GLIAC North Division Preseason Media Poll. The Bulldogs received 83 points in voting by members of the media across the league. Defending national runner-up Michigan Tech was tabbed to win the division after claiming the league crown last year with Ashland picked first in the GLIAC South poll. FSU was the only team to beat Michigan Tech in league play a year ago (1/20/11) as the Bulldogs posted a 63-60 victory at FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

* Last Season: The Bulldog women's basketball squad wrapped up the 2010-11 campaign with a 13-13 overall record. Last year marked the 14th time in the last 15 seasons the Bulldogs have registered double-digit wins in a campaign. FSU placed fifth in the GLIAC North Division standings with an 8-11 league record.

* First Place In GLIAC: The Bulldogs continue to rank first in the GLIAC North Division standings. FSU holds a 10-1 conference mark while Michigan Tech is second (8-4) followed by Grand Valley State (6-6) going into this week. Ashland heads the South Division and is the league's only unbeaten team (12-0) in league play.

* The Records:Ferris State (13-4, 10-1 GLIAC) has won 11 of its last 13 outings to date this campaign and leads the GLIAC North Division standings with a 7-1 league mark. Prior to the last two years, the Bulldogs had made 10-straight GLIAC Tournament appearances and advanced to the semifinals for the third-straight year in 2008-09.

Lake Superior State (7-12, 3-9 GLIAC) has won its last two contests and is coming off a 71-67 league home upset over Tiffin last Saturday (Jan. 28). The Lakers were 16-10 overall last year and posted a 13-6 conference mark.

Saginaw Valley State (4-15, 2-10 GLIAC) had dropped eight games in a row before a 62-49 league home win over Ohio Domincian last Saturday (Jan. 28). The Cardinals visit Grand Valley State on Thursday (Feb. 2) prior to facing FSU. They were 8-18 overall in 2010-11 and tallied a 5-14 league record.

* The Coaches:Ferris State – Tracey Dorow (Western Michigan, 1996), 14th season, 221-160 (.580). Dorow presently ranks as Ferris' all-time winningest coach. She guided FSU to a 22-7 mark and the school's first NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tourney appearance in 1999-00. She spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Lake Michigan College (1994-97) and one season at Indianapolis (1997-98). She also directed FSU to an NCAA Tourney berth in 2003-04 and the NCAA-II Sweet Sixteen in 2006-07.

Lake Superior State – Justin Rees, 1st season. The former Bulldog assistant coach took over the LSSU program this season. A Florida native who played basketball at Barry University, he was an assistant coach at Post University from 1999-02, Ferris State from 2002-07 and Maine from 2007-11. He was Maine's recruiting coordinator and worked on-court with post players. He was the associate head coach, recruiting coordinator and camps director at FSU.

Saginaw Valley State – Jamie Pewinski, 1st season at SVSU, 6th season overall. She took over as head coach at SVSU this season after serving five years in the same role at Lake Superior State. She previously was LSSU's assistant coach for seven seasons and played collegiately at both Oakland University and Saginaw Valley State.

* Rivalry Victory: FSU held off an inspired Grand Valley State squad to win their seventh consecutive game this season with a 58-50 triumph in the West Michigan rivalry game on Saturday (Jan. 28) at FSU's Jim Wink Arena. The Bulldogs led by only three points at halftime, but held on to beat the Lakers before a large crowd. Bulldog sophomore guard Sarah DeShone (Elkhart, Ind./Jimtown) DeShone paced the Bulldogs with a game-high 21 points in the contest, which included nine-of-12 free throws. Senior guard Tricia Principe (Kalamazoo/Mattawan) chipped in with 13 points and also hit nine free throws (9-10) as FSU finished by making 25-of-34 (73.5%) tries from the charity stripe.

* Series History vs. LSSU: The Lakers maintain a 50-34 advantage heading into Thursday's 85th meeting. LSSU has won 16 of the last 24 meetings. Ferris head coach Tracey Dorow presently has a 12-18 career coaching mark versus LSSU. Last year, the Lakers topped FSU by a 73-57 score in Big Rapids (1/16/11) followed by a 57-47 win in Sault Ste. Marie (2/3/11). However, FSU recorded a 65-56 victory against the Lakers earlier this year (Jan. 5) in Sault Ste. Marie.

* Series History vs. SVSU: The Cardinals hold a 43-32 advantage entering Saturday's 76th encounter. FSU has won 20 of the last 26 meetings, including a 66-48 triumph in the most recent game earlier this year (Jan. 7) in University Center. SVSU won last year's initial meeting 70-67 in University Center (1/8/11) before FSU came back to win 83-66 (2/5/11) at Big Rapids. FSU head coach Tracey Dorow presently is 20-7 to date versus SVSU. The Bulldogs had lost six consectuvie games on the road at Saginaw Valley State prior to this year's win at O'Neill Arena.

* GLIAC Player Of Week: FSU's Tricia Principe claimed last week's GLIAC North Division Player of the Week honor. The senior standout tallied a team-high 25 points and nailed five three-pointers while sinking two critical free throws with 8.8 seconds to play as FSU snapped Michigan Tech's 37-game homecourt winning streak (Jan. 19). She added nine points with a squad-best four assists as the Bulldogs rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit to beat Northern Michigan (Jan. 21). In addition, she hit two free throws with 15 seconds left to help clinch the win after NMU had cut a 17-point Bulldog lead down to only five points in the final minute.

* Important Note: FSU's sweep of Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan (Jan. 19-21) combined with a win earlier this year at Lake Superior State (Jan. 5) gave FSU its first road sweep of the Upper Peninsula schools since 2006-07 and it marked only the second time in school history the Bulldogs have accomplished the feat. FSU is currently 5-0 against the three U.P. schools this season and needs a win over Lake Superior State Thursday (Feb. 2) to sweep all three teams both at home and on the road in the same season for the first-time ever.

* Ten Wins Again: With 13 wins this season, the Bulldogs have now failed to win 10 games in a season only twice in the last 21 years and only once under coach Tracey Dorow. FSU had reached double-digit victories 13 consecutive seasons prior to 2009-10. The Bulldogs bounced back to win 13 games a year ago.

* Miscellaneous Note: FSU has defeated a ranked Michigan Tech squad three consecutive times following its recent win (Jan. 19) over the 19th-ranked Huskies. The Bulldogs have also beat MTU at home each of the last two seasons when the Huskies were ranked among the nation's top 10 teams both times. FSU handed Michigan Tech its only league loss last season (18-1).

* The Bulldog Tradition: The Ferris State women's basketball program, which starts its 37th season of varsity competition, has compiled a 474-485 (.494) all-time mark. The Bulldogs won their only GLIAC crown, advanced to their first NCAA-II Regional Tournament and recorded the nation's highest grade point average in 1999-2000. FSU, which claimed GLIAC Tourney runner-up honors in 1999-00 and 2003-04, has posted 10 wins or more in 14 of the last 15 seasons.

* Coaching Staff: Ferris head coach Tracey Dorow returns the bulk of her coaching staff for the 2011-12 campaign. Kurt Westendorp returns for his second campaign as the assistant coach. He formerly spent three seasons as the assistant coach at NCAA Division III Albion. The Bulldogs' staff this season again includes Dorow's father, Rick Bloodworth, as a volunteer assistant coach for the sixth season. Former Bulldog players Becci Houdek and Caitlin Carmody are serving as student assistants.

* Game Promotions: One lucky fan both days this week will have an opportunity to win $10,000 in a shot sponsored by Lake Osceola State Bank. Additionally, Saturday's game versus Saginaw Valley State marks the third of FSU's four "Kidz Dayz" events sponsored by Jet's Pizza. All children in grades K-12 are free with a paid adult and a number of special kids activities will take place, including face painting, a bounce house, photos with Brutus the Bulldog and more. Also, the Mariachi Nacional Band of Indianapolis will provide music during both halftimes on Saturday as part of the area's annual Festival of the Arts Celebration.

* Coming Up Next: The Bulldogs wrap up their five-game league stand at home next week with a pair of contests against GLIAC South Division schools. Lake Erie visits Wink Arena for the first-time ever on Thursday, Feb, 9, at 6 p.m. (ET) with Ashland coming to town on Saturday, Feb. 11, at 1 p.m.